San Mateo County Sheriff's Gun Safety

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office is committed to promoting community safety through education on responsible firearm handling, storage, and usage, fostering trust and enhancing policing effectiveness.

Criminal Storage of Firearms Penal Code 25100

1. Except as provided in Section 25105,a person commits the crime of “criminal storage of a firearm in the first degree” if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
   1. The person keeps any firearm within any premises that are under the person’s custody or control.
   2. The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian, or that a person prohibited from possessing a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law is likely to gain access to the firearm.
   3. The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes death or great bodily injury to the child or any other person, or the person prohibited from possessing a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes death or great bodily injury to themselves or any other person.
2. Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the crime of “criminal storage of a firearm in the second degree” if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
   1. The person keeps any firearm within any premises that are under the person’s custody or control.
   2. The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian, or that a person prohibited from possessing a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law is likely to gain access to the firearm.
   3. The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes injury, other than great bodily injury, to the child or any other person, or carries the firearm either to a public place or in violation of Section 417, or the person prohibited from possessing a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law obtain access to the firearm and thereby causes injury, other than great bodily injury, to themselves or any other person, or carries the firearm either to a public place or in violation of Section 417.
3. Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the crime of “criminal storage of a firearm in the third degree” if the person keeps any firearm within any premises that are under the person’s custody or control and negligently stores or leaves a firearm in a location where the person knows, or reasonably should know, that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian, unless reasonable action is taken by the person to secure the firearm against access by the child.

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